The Chief. The Scout. The Spirit. The names are legendary. Deeply valanced fenders. The Indian head-dress logo. Deep red paint. The styling cues are unforgettable. Once there were two proud competitors vying for supremacy in the American-made heavyweight cruiser market, icons in the American cruiser scene. One has withstood the tests of time. The other has fallen victim to a carnivorous business world where mismanagement and financial woes spell certain doom. But the return of Indian Motorcycles is nigh, and the ghosts of George M. Hendee and Carl Oscar Hedstrom are restless, awaiting the resurrection of the motorcycle company they made famous.
Expect to see the Indian Chief rolling down a roadway near you late in the Fall of 2007. So says Chairman of Indian Motorcycles, Stephen Julius, who recently granted MotorcycleUSA an exclusive interview.
Expect to see the Indian Chief rolling down a roadway near you late in the Fall of 2007. So says Chairman of Indian Motorcycles, Stephen Julius, who recently granted MotorcycleUSA an exclusive interview.
Besides serving as chairman for Indian Motorcycles, Julius is a managing partner for the private equity firm, Stellican Limited. Stellican Limited bought the rights to Indian in July of 2004. The firm has a history of bringing back iconic heritage brands balancing on the fringes of obscurity and returning them to a prosperous, competitive state. Stellican did it with Chris-Craft boats. They brought the Italian yacht manufacturer Riva back to respectability. They even kick-started Vicenza, a soccer team in the Italian Premier League. Now Stellican has its sights set on defibrillating the flatlined Indian Motorcycle Company and sparking life into one of the most recognizable names in American motorcycling history.
